History

The war-era Heart Mountain Relocation Center was purpose built, beginning in June of 1942. The War Relocation Authority (WRA) brought in thousands of local and regional workers and private contractors to construct the site in approximately 60 days. Although the site belonged to the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the WRA took over temporary management of the area during that time.

Post-war, the site was primarily converted to Homestead lots, which was administered through the Heart Mountain Irrigation District. The dismantling of the Center and the Homestead lottery for these allotments, including the barracks and other structures, occurred in 1946-1947. However, some of the land still belongs to and is administered by the Bureau of Reclamation, including the remaining hospital buildings and the area containing the Honor Roll and Interpretive Walking Trail (both of which are maintained through a stewardship agreement between the HMWF and the BOR). Through the years, additional other agencies, such as the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), used the structures and land of the former Relocation Center.

Arrangement

The inventory is divided between historical and contemporary. The individual items remain as part of their original collection/accession and are housed as such.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is available for on-site research only. Note: The collection is NOT being digitized at this time, therefore, it is not available online. Dependent on funding, staffing, and permissions of copyright holders, select portions of the collection may become available online at some point in the future.

All materials are subject to administrative review prior to being served for research due to privacy or preservation (condition) concerns. Some materials may be restricted upon assessment. We can not guarantee same day availability for items requiring redaction or reformatting. We highly recommend researchers review the finding aid and schedule a phone consultation with the Archivist before planning a research trip. Research appointments must be made in advance, please consult the archivist.

Use Restrictions

As allowable by law, the HMWF may provide copies of materials for private study, scholarship, or research. The HMWF reserves the right to deny or limit reproductions.

Producing or allowing reproduction as permitted by law for libraries and archives, or possession of reproductions by a user does not imply rights ownership. Some materials in our collection are within the public domain or may be used under "fair use", as defined by law. We kindly request proper citation for any material used from the HMWF Collection.

The user is solely responsible for copyright compliance and if use exceeds "fair use", the user may be subject to copyright infringement.

Service and/or licensing fees may apply for reproduction and permissions for other use.

Privacy and Personally Identifiable Information

(PPI policy courtesy of and adapted from the Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Art)

Manuscript collections that include twentieth and twenty-first century archival materials may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state “right to privacy” laws. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal cause for action if facts concerning an individual’s private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person.

The HMWF staff have taken care to identify Personally Identifiable Information found within its archival collections when undertaking archival processing work. Some collections are flagged for secondary review upon receipt of a research request and may be redacted or deemed restricted at that time. However, privacy protected information may still be discovered during use of the archival collections, particularly in those collections that are unprocessed or have been minimally processed.

Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within the archival collections, and further agree not to publish, publicize, or disclose such information to any other party for any purpose if found within the archival collections.

Researchers agree to indemnify and hold harmless the HMWF and its officers, employees, and agents from and against all suits, claims, actions, and expenses arising out of use of archival collections held by the HMWF.

Intellectual Property Rights Status

The IP rights for these materials generally belong to the original creator, assignees, or legal heirs. Researchers may request an IP rights assessment, however, the user is ultimately responsible for identifying and obtaining use permissions from the copyright owner. Some, but not all materials in our collection are within the public domain or may be used under "fair use", as defined by law.

Disclaimer: While the current HMWF administration makes a concerted effort to determine the current rights holder, identifying the right status is often a complex and ambiguous matter, especially in regards to our early accessions.

For material the HMWF does not own rights to, we do not guarantee the accuracy of rights status appearing in our documentation. The user is responsible for identifying and obtaining permissions from the copyright holder.

When the intellectual property rights are held by the HMWF, use of this work beyond "Fair Use" requires the written permission of an authorized HMWF representative and fees may apply. Inquiries can be made with the archivist.

Reproduction Restrictions

Please allow ample time to conduct your on-site research. If your research is dependent on the ability to obtain reproductions for off-site reference, please let the archivist know before you begin reviewing materials as we may not be able to fulfill all of your reproduction expectations. Also note: all reproduction requests will be processed after your visit and sent electronically.

NOTE: §108(i) expressly prohibits us from making or distributing reproductions of MUSICAL WORKS, PICTORAL, GRAPHIC, SCULPTURAL WORK, OR MOTION PICTURES of materials for which we do not own the Intellectual Property rights and one of the allowable exceptions does not exist. This includes photographic material.

“Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works” include two-dimensional and three dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models, and technical drawings, including architectural plans. - - U.S. Copyright Law, Section 101

In the event we are unable to reproduce material in our collection due to these legal limits, you still have the option of seeking out the copyright holder and obtaining the necessary permissions. When presented with verifiable written authorization from the legitimate copyright holder, the HMWF can produce a reproduction.

Preferred Citation

[Collection Name], Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, [Accession Number, if applicable]

Processing Information

Materials are added to this inventory list on an on-going basis. Last updated: March 29, 2016.

Machine-readable finding aid created by Nicole Blechynden, March 2016.

Administrative Note

This project was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Access Terms

United States. War Relocation Authority

World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Wyoming.

World War, 1939-1945 -- War work -- Wyoming.

Wyoming -- History -- 1919-1945.

Blueprints (reprographic copies).

Conceptual drawings.

Design development drawings.

Diagrams.

Floor plans.

Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Wyo.)

Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.

Maps.

Plans (orthographic projections).

Plats (maps).

Schematic drawings.

Site plans.

Topographic maps.

Tracings (drawings).

World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps

World War, 1939-1945 -- Evacuation of civilians

World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans -- Social conditions -- Wyoming -- Park County.

Wyoming -- History, 1939-1945.

Inventory Listing

Historical  

Additional materials may exist within unprocessed collections. For inquiries, please contact the Archivist.

Contemporary  

Note: Additional materials exist within the Institutional Archives (restricted) portion of the collection related to the bid proposals received for the building of the Interpretive Center. These have not yet been process and do not appear on this list. For inquiries, please contact the Archivist.